Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Happy (Brown) Bogie Unsliced

A strange brown rope arrived in the mail rolled up and held together with two nails. I cut the rope with a sharp knife into coins, pulled apart the coins a bit and stuffed them (not too tightly) into a largish pot style briar. The reward was a nice cool flavorful smoke. This tobacco doesn't have the overpowering sweetness of some virginias nor does it have the bite. There's a hint of a cigar-like flavor but it barely comes through and doesn't stink up a room like a cigar. Pleasant flavor from beginning to end. Burns to a nice grey ash.

If you find yourself confused, as I did, with all of these ropes, here is some help: In Gawith Hoggarth parlance, ropes come as Pigtails, Bogie, or Twists. The only difference is in the diameter of the rope, with Twists being the thickest, and pigtails the thinnest. Samuel Gawith has the thin pigtails, and Rope, which is the diameter equivalent of GH Twist. Generally, pigtails are intended for chewers, and Twist & Rope for pipes, with Bogie in the middle. But one can smoke them all, and with the current spotty availability of Lakeland tobaccos, that is important to know.

The ropes come Brown or Black (well, they also come flavored with cherry, rum, and such, but I dislike such flavorings and will thus ignore them). Brown is light, clean, crisp and very strong. Black is rich, oily, tarry, and not as strong, but still strong.

Both can be purchased pre-sliced, which can be a nice convenience, particularily with the Black. The Brown slices up nice as you please, but the black not so much. All the tar tends to gum up the cutting implement, and the process can become tedious. I plan in the future to buy my Black pre-sliced.

It's great fun to buy this stuff a pound (500g) at a time. The large coil of rope you receive is wonderful to contemplate, complete with a 4 penny nail hammered in to hold it together. Conversely, buying these tinned makes for a rather poor first impression. These tobaccos are quite dense, so 50g is only a few inches of rope. Thus, upon opening the tin, the first impression is that it is half empty, and the other is that it resembles (well, you know...).

For how these taste and smoke, see my Black and Brown reviews under Samuel Gawith, and happy smoking!

Yet another blend that I most likely would never have known about. Thanks to TR I have another favorite. This rope is a very full flavored, all tobacco blend. While it is quite strong (I like) it is oh so smokeable. Some may find it is boreing to deal with ropes, but to me it is enjoyable to sit and cut, and rub this blend out while I'm puffing my pipe. My method for this one is to slice off thin "coins" with my cigar cutter, let dry for a short while, and then it rubs out easily. The pack, light, and burn are excelent. This may become a "desert island" blend.....also a great blender. Rate * * * *

Of course, this has Lakeland essence in it, and it must be straight Virginia.

Now, it’s been a few years since I’ve had the chance to smoke Brown Bogie, but it’s obvious isn’t it? That unusual undercurrent of dank floral notes also accompanies Kendal Kentucky and Dark Bird’s Eye. This is a Lakeland tobacco. Why restate it? Well, I had the fortunate (or rather unfortunate) opportunity to smoke many high-end tobaccos like this one early in my piping journey. Casings can be deceptive at first. Does this have Burley in it? No, I don’t think so. Regardless, I also don’t think my opinion otherwise has changed. This is Brown Bogie:

The high nicotine content is mitigated by the heavy flavor content. This is a rich smoke to be savored, with a musky sweetness that lingers long on the senses. It might be called a booger and look a bit like feces (or pig intestines, as a friend of mine once commented,) but those who enjoy the taste of a good cigar and like a smoke they can really feel in their heads should treasure this. My only complaint might be that it’s hard for me to wait for it to dry after I prep it. There is a certain sweet spot after the rope is cut, which of course varies with the thickness of the slices. It’s well worth the inconvenience. I must also add that calling the room-note pleasant is relative to where I go. My house smells nice, but I’m also a smoker. People in public are more discriminating.

An excellent offering from Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. This twist/rope tobacco was not as thick as I had thought it would be when I received it, however that was not a problem. The rope smells quite extraordinary, quite similar to the GH Rum Flake I have too, but rather than that rich fruity smell of raisins this is a far more earthy leathery aroma.

This was my first rope tobacco and I will say I think it's a very good way of packing/storing tobacco. Especially if you want to cellar tobacco or store it in bulk for whatever reason as it's very space efficient. As well as this it gives you freedom to cut the tobacco to ribbons or chunks of your liking. My suggestion is that you cut a nice thin slice and pull it apart completely as packing a solid block into your bowl can make this tobacco overpowering.

This brings us to the strength, and yes it is strong, but not harsh or overpowering provided you smoke it right; packed properly in a small bowl and sip slowly. In the right conditions this is a dream to smoke, a lot of depth and various flavours that come in and out and last a very long time without relights or need for tamping.

My caution would be this, if you don't have the patience to go through with preparation and packing correctly, or self control to sip on this slowly you will probably have a bad experience. However if you enjoy the overall process surrounding pipe smoking, like having to clean your pipe and pack it, you'll enjoy this tobacco, especially if you like very strong, robust tobaccos.

Slice, fold, pack, light, smoke. I do wonder how many of the terrible experiences with this wonderful rope come from people who Frank-packed a bowl of the stuff like suckers, and from people who will puff mercilessly to make sure that a bowl never goes out.

This is an incredible tobacco to remind you that pipes don't have to be meticulously stuffed all the time, and that life isn't a slow smoking competition.

This tobacco pretty much lives up to what everybody's saying about it. Strong and full bodied. It's got a cigarish taste to it and leaves you with a good nicotene buzz. There is no level of stress this stuff cannot conquer.

Sweet, earthy smell. Simple unadorned twist. For the person who appreciates a dark musty tobacco. But be warned. It does indeed deliver some serious nicotine.

I love it. Not every day, but once or twice a month.

Lord have mercy, this is what I call a powerful nicotine delivery system. After smoking half a bowl, I had to be carried inside. This is very strong tobacco; you can hang yourself with this rope if you're not careful. This is an excellent tobacco for what it is, it is a cool smoking tasty tobacco with a little bit of sweetness which I did not expect.